British Lion Films (UK)
Background: Founded in 1927, British Lion Films is one of the UK's leading production companies. Purchased by EMI in 1976, British Lion was later sold to producer Peter Snell (the studio's former head) in 1988 and continues to produce films. 1st logo (1930s-1940s) Logo: "British Lion Film Corp. Ltd." appears over a nighttime skyline background in cursive with "presents" below rotating or "A British Lion Picture". FX/SFX: The rotating of the text. Music/Sounds: A majestic fanfare or the opening theme. Availability: Seen on movies from the era. Scare Factor: None to low. 2nd Logo (1940s) Logo: On a rough concrete background we see a shape which resembles what door numbers were on. Inside is a text message: Distributed by BRITISH LION FILM CORPORATION LTD. 76-78, Wardour Street London, W.I. FX/SFX: None Music/Sounds: None Availability: Extremely rare. Appears on Derby Day Scare Factor: None. This is a plain, boring logo 3rd logo (1940s-1950s) Logo: Superimposed as an in-credit logo, we see the words "BRITISH LION FILM CORPORATION LIMITED Presents" FX/SFX: None. Music/Sounds: The opening theme of the movie. Availability: Seen on several films of the time. Scare Factor: None. 4th Logo (1950s-1962) Logo: We see the words "A BRITISH LION RELEASE" on a gray background with rays coming out of it (or, for color releases, a red background). The words BRITISH LION looks like it pops out in a Four-Star-like fashion, and RELEASE is confined into Tootsie-Roll =-like banner. FX/SFX: None. Music/Sounds: For each movie, a custom fanfare is heard. Availability: Can be found on I'm All Right Jack, Lucky Jim and other movies. The colored version is rare and can be found on Josephine and Men. Scare Factor: None. 5th Logo (1963-1976) Logo: A black square is seen zooming slowly towards us. Then a white eye is drawn inside starting with the eyeball. Then the drawing line extends to the right of the square, where the white words BRITISH (above the line) LION (below the line) appear. FX/SFX: The drawing. Music/Sounds: A timpani drum roll for the square zooming, followed by a snare rum roll for when the line is drawn, ending with three timpani drum hits. Sometimes, it's the opening theme of the film, or silent. Variants: *The background can be red, light blue, dark blue, orange, green, or yellow. On the orange and yellow versions, the letters are red; on the light and dark blue versions, the letters are white; and on the red and green versions, the letters are yellow. *The logo can be black and white as well. *There is an international version with a paisley green background and pink letters that are in a different font, and the text says "LION INTERNATIONAL". Availability: Can be seen on movies starting with 1963 like Til Death Us Do Part. The monochrome version was spotted on Morgan and Heavens Above. This logo is often removed on most DVD releases, but some films preserve it following the StudioCanal logo. The international variant is seen on Australian fullscreen prints of The Baby and the Battleship. It can also be seen on DVD releases of Twisted Nerve. Scare Factor: Low to medium, due to the design, animation and the music.